Flex and The City with Denis Harty - Episode 82

In the latest episode of Flex and the City, I was delighted to sit down with Denis Harty, Country Head of Waystone Continental Europe and CEO of Waystone Management Company, and one part of the conversation stayed with me in particular.His perspective on teamwork.Denis moved from County Kerry to Luxembourg 25 years ago and entered financial services almost by accident while studying law. Since then, he has built a career across firms including JP Morgan and Credit Suisse, and now helps lead an organisation of more than 2000 people globally.But what stayed with me was not the career journey. It was the way he described rugby as a metaphor for leadership and business.Every person has a role to play. The ball moves through multiple hands. If one person does not do their job properly, the next person cannot do theirs.“You don’t win in isolation.”It is a simple idea, but it says a lot about leadership. Strong teams are not built around one standout individual. They are built on trust, interdependence, and recognising that different people bring different strengths.For those entering the industry, his advice was equally practical. Stay curious. Keep adapting. Build skills beyond your specialism. The future belongs to people who can connect different disciplines and think more broadly about where value is created.He also shared a reminder that I think many people need to hear at some point in their career:“This too shall pass.”A grounded conversation about leadership, resilience, and what strong teams really look like in practice. 🎙️